Trypanocidal activity of methanol extracts of the hemolymph of Sarcophaga argyrostoma larva against Trypanosoma evansi infected mice

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Many natural products worldwide are used for medicinal purposes. Various insect-isolated compounds were investigated in pursuit of new therapeutic agents. This study aimed to compare the effects of methanol extract of hemolymph of Sarcophaga argyrostoma larvae with diminazene aceturate on some hematological and biochemical indices of mice infected with Trypanosoma evansi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen albino mice were randomly divided into four groups, of four mice, which received different treatments: In Group 1 (G1), mice were infected intraperitoneally with 1×10(4) T. evansi and received no treatment (positive control), in Group 2 (G2), infected mice were treated with 0.5 mL/kg of diminazene aceturate, in Group 3 (G3), infected mice were treated with 0.5 mL/kg methanol extract of the hemolymph of S. argyrostoma larvae, and in Group 4 (G4), uninfected mice received 0.5 ml of distilled water (negative control). In G3, treatment was started 3 days before injecting the parasite, while for the other groups, a single dose of treatment was applied when the parasite appeared in the blood. RESULTS: Mice from G3 showed low parasitemia of 29×10(4)/mm(3) 4 days post-infection until the infection completely disappeared on the 5(th) day, which was earlier than for other groups. The results showed that the numbers of red blood corpuscles (red blood cells [RBCs]) and white blood cells (WBCs) per unit volume were significantly different (p<0.05) between the four groups. The highest RBC (9.09×10(3) cell/ mm(3)) and WBC (14.30×10(3) cell/ mm(3)) counts were recorded in G3, whereas the lowest values of 6.60 and 4.60×10(3)cell/ mm(3), respectively, were recorded for G2. In addition, there were significant differences (p<0.05) between the different groups for platelet counts per unit volume, with G3 having the most (943×10(3) cell/ mm(3)) and G2 having the least (357×10(3) cell/ mm(3)). There was a significant (p<0.05) difference in the indices of biochemical activities between the extract-treated infected groups and the standard drug-treated group. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the methanol extract of the hemolymph of S. argyrostoma larva exhibits trypanocidal activity, so it may be exploited as a suitable candidate for the development of trypanocidal drugs.